Wholesaling (Germany):
Upward trend continues

In wholesaling the business situation worsened slightly, but the expectations were again marked by increased optimism. The surveyed participants intend, despite more evident inventory pressure, to place more orders in the coming months than at the same time the previous year. This holds for both the industrial B2B area and for the consumer goods field. Wholesalers still expect to be able to raise prices in the near future. Their plans also call for further increases in the number of the employees. Eastern German wholesalers again evaluated their current business situation less positively than in the previous month, and also with respect to the business outlook they are no longer quite so confident. Since more of them are confronted with large stocks of unsold goods, their order plans are not so frequently aimed at expansion. Nevertheless, they still have expansive hiring plans.